Pension type for Pillar 3a: which investor type am I?
Security-oriented, balanced or return-oriented: your pension type determines how your Pillar 3a balance is invested. Compando distinguishes the three types and guides you to the right solution with a short self-test.
1. What is a pension type in Pillar 3a?
Your pension type, also called investor type, describes your personal attitude to return and risk: how much fluctuation you allow and how your money works over the years. It arises from risk attitude and life situation, not from the concrete investment. In Pillar 3a as in the unrestricted Pillar 3b, it is the basis of every investment decision. There are broadly three types:
Security-oriented
Stability before return. Hardly any fluctuations, but fewer return opportunities over long periods. Often fits shortly before retirement.
Balanced
Growth in moderation. Limited fluctuations, without exposing the balance fully to the markets. Fits family, mortgage and a medium time horizon.
Return-oriented
Opportunity before security. Stronger price fluctuations, but the highest return opportunities over a long investment horizon. Fits with stable reserves and many years until retirement.
2. Which pension type am I?
You determine your pension type with a short self-test. The more of the following statements apply, the more return-oriented your profile:
Statement | Applies? |
|---|---|
I stay calm even during price losses. | yes / no |
I need the balance only in more than 15 years. | yes / no |
I have financial reserves besides Pillar 3a. | yes / no |
My income is stable. | yes / no |
Short-term fluctuations do not bother me. | yes / no |
Four to five times «yes» speak for a return-oriented profile, two to three times for a balanced one, zero to one time for a security-oriented one. Decisive here is risk tolerance, not age: even a young person can be security-oriented, an older one return-oriented, if the life situation supports it. The self-test provides a first orientation; for the concrete Pillar 3a solution, the investment horizon, wealth and personal goals additionally count.
Good to know: Your own risk tolerance shows itself most honestly not in good stock-market years, but during market turbulence. A profile that you can calmly hold even in weaker phases therefore brings more than an aggressive one that gets switched under pressure.
3. Which pension type fits which stage of life?
Career, family and proximity to retirement shift which type suits you. The pension type therefore rarely stays the same over decades:
Life situation | Often fitting |
|---|---|
28 years old, first job, long horizon | return-oriented |
Family with a mortgage | balanced |
Retirement in about five years | security-oriented |
The type is thus not a fixed value: at the career start, the long investment horizon allows more risk, with family and planned home ownership the need for security rises, closer to retirement the profile becomes more defensive.
A type that is too defensive over many years can, however, enlarge the later pension gap. A regular review of your own profile keeps security and return opportunities in balance.
The right Pillar 3a for your type
Which providers offer an investment strategy matching your pension type and investment horizon, you see in the direct comparison by costs and strategy.
